1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coaxial cable connector for use in a compact electronic apparatus such as a communication apparatus such as a portable phone or an electric measurement apparatus, among coaxial cable connectors for use in connections between substrates of various types of electronic apparatuses and coaxial cables and, more particularly, to a coaxial cable connector plug which is mounted to an end portion of a coaxial cable and is fitted to a coaxial cable connector receptacle mounted on a substrate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
To cope with the trend toward thinner, lighter and higher-density compact electronic apparatuses, there have been small-height and small size coaxial cable connectors (plugs) having reduced receptacle-fitting heights and reduced receptacle-mounted areas. Such connectors are known as L-shaped coaxial cable connecters which are fitted to an receptacle in the direction orthogonal to the drawing direction of a coaxial cable (refer to, for example, JP-A No. 2003-331997), and such an L-shaped coaxial cable connector is constituted by a contact which is connected to a central conductor of a coaxial cable, a substantially-cylindrical insulation body internally equipped with the contact at the center portion, and an outer conductor shell which includes a substantially-cylindrical receptacle fitting portion (4) housing the insulation body and drawing out the coaxial cable outwardly in the radial direction, the outer conductor shell being connected to an outer conductor of the coaxial cable. By fitting the receptacle fitting portion to the outside of a cylindrical outer conductor of a receptacle, the central conductor and the outer conductor of the coaxial cable are brought into conduction with the contact and the outer conductor of the receptacle through the contact and the outer conductor shell of the connector.
The receptacle fitting portion is formed from arc-shaped elastic springs arranged on a concentric circle outside the insulation body and the respective elastic springs are provided at their tip end portions with contact portions extending more inwardly than the outer diameter of the outer conductor of the receptacle. When the connector is fitted to the receptacle, the respective elastic springs press the contact portions against the outer peripheral surface of the outer conductor of the receptacle, thereby retaining the fitting between the plug and the receptacle and, therefore, the electric conduction therebetween.
The outer conductor shell includes a receptacle fitting portion, a lid portion which is extended from the opposite side of the receptacle fitting portion from the cable drawing-out portion thereof and is folded onto the bottom surface of the receptacle fitting portion, a crimp flange portion which is extended from the receptacle fitting portion via the lid portion in the cable drawing-out direction and is crimped to the coaxial cable, and a pair of right and left cable guides which are extended directly from the receptacle fitting portion in the cable drawing-out direction and is crimped to the inner side of the crimp flange portion while being in contact with an outer conductor of the coaxial cable, wherein the receptacle fitting portion internally equipped with the contact through the insulating body at the center position is crimped and secured to the end portion of the coaxial cable such that the cable drawing-out direction is perpendicular to the direction of insertion into and pull from a receptacle.
Before assembly, the outer conductor shell is formed in a half-developed state in which the continuous lid portion and crimp flange portion are extended upwardly from the bottom edge of the peripheral wall of the receptacle fitting portion while the cable guides are extended laterally from the opposite side of the receptacle fitting portion from the connecting portion connected with the lid portion (bend portion), with an attitude in which the receptacle-insertion port of the receptacle fitting portion is directed downwardly. Then, the insulation body is inserted into the receptacle fitting portion, at the half-developed state, from the bottom side. The continuous lid portion and crimp flange portion are folded to cover and close the bottom surface of the insulation body at a state where the contact solder-secured to the central conductor of the coaxial cable has been housed within the insulation body from the bottom surface. Thus, the crimp flange portion and the cable guides are extended from the receptacle fitting portion in the cable drawing-out direction. Subsequently, at the state where the cable guides are in contact with the outer conductor of the coaxial cable, the crimp flange portion is crimped from outside to complete the assembly of the connector.